Laich it or not, Caps Win 3rd Straight

In their first game after clinching the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL, the Washington Capitals were at home against a Boston Bruins team desperate for points and trying to solidify a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Verizon Center is our sight for Monday's Game of the Night:

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Boston's 1st visit of the year to the toughest building in the NHL happened to be when they needed the points most. They got 1, but the lowest-scoring team in the league couldn't convert for the big goal they needed to help their playoff run.

Nicklas Backstrom started the scoring for Washington with his 31st goal of the year 7:36 into the game when he wristed a shot that barely rolled its way over the line.

Jose Theodore would hang tough for the rest of the 1st period before Dennis Wideman blasted one past him with less than 2 seconds to go in the period.

Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead less than 8 minutes into the 2nd period, but then it was the Capitals' turn to score a late goal, as Mike Knuble put one past Tuukka Rask with 29 seconds left in the period to tie it at 2.

A scoreless 3rd period was dangerously close to not being scoreless when Brooks Laich took a penalty with 5:01 remaining in regulation. The Capitals would have his back and kill the penalty and send the game to overtime, and Laich would make up for it later.

In the overtime, Dennis Wideman took a high-sticking penalty only 24 seconds in. It was only 20 seconds later when the game would end.

Brooks Laich found the puck lying in front of the crease after an Alexander Semin one-time shot off a pass from Nicklas Backstrom and deposited it into the back of the net to give the Capitals the 3-2 win, their 3rd-straight win.

Washington is the highest scoring team in the league with 304 goals. Boston is the lowest with 195.

Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots for the Bruins.

Jose Theodore made 28 saves, including 2 huge stacked-pad saves in the 1st period. There are still questions circulating around the Capitals as to how their goaltending will hold up come playoff time. But when you look at the numbers, it's hard to see why they're still out there.

Theodore hasn't lost in regulation since January 12th, going 19-0-3 since then. He is 29-7-7 on the season, and is looking for only his 3rd 30-win season of his career.

The lone point for the Bruins does move them up to 7th-place in the East all by themselves. They have 85 points, now 1 up on 8th-place Philadelphia, 3 up on 9th-place New York, and 1 behind Montreal for 6th. They have 3 games left this season.

Washington has already secured home-ice throughout the playoffs, so it's nothing but pride to play for in their final 3 games, as they now have 116 points. The Capitals face the Penguins in Pittsburgh tomorrow before ending the year with 2 home games; Friday against the Thrashers and Sunday afternoon against these same Bruins.

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Blue Jackets 1 Blues 2 (OT)

Don't count out the Blues just yet. Erik Johnson scored on the power-play with 1:01 left in overtime to keep St Louis' slim playoff hopes alive. Their win has them at 87 points, 10th in the West, 4 points back of Colorado for the 8th and final playoff spot. They are 2 back of Calgary for 9th. The Blues only have 3 games left though, while the Flames also have 3 and the Avalanche have 4 to go. Columbus has 78 points and are 14th in the West.

Wild 1 Oilers 4

Edmonton now has 58 points on the year with their win over the Wild. The Oilers are last in the league, 14 points behind the 29th-place team, Toronto, and 20 points behind the 14th-place team in the West, Columbus. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 81 points.

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Tuesday's Schedule:

Rangers @ Sabres, 7:00

Flyers @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Canadiens @ Islanders, 7:00

Devils @ Thrashers, 7:00

Senators @ Panthers, 7:00

Capitals @ Penguins, 7:30, Versus

Hurricanes @ Lightning, 7:30

Blackhawks @ Stars, 8:30

Sharks @ Flames, 9:30

Avalanche @ Canucks, 10:00, Versus

Kings @ Ducks, 10:00, Prime Ticket

Avs Bounce Back; DET, LA Clinch

On Sunday, the Flyers got a big win, the Blackhawks clinched the Central Division title, and the Canucks clinched the Northwest Division title. But our Game of the Night comes from Denver, where the Avalanche got what head coach Joe Sacco called their "biggest win of the year."

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It wasn't technically a "must win" for 8th-place Colorado, but it was as close as it could get after seeing their lead over 9th-place Calgary evaporate the other night. They had to face the Western Conference leaders in their battle to bounce back.

San Jose would open up a 2-0 lead on goals by Douglas Murray and Jamie McGinn less than 9 minutes into the game, only to see the Avalanche score 4-straight goals after that.

Kyle Quincey closed out the 1st period with a goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Peter Mueller would then tally twice for Colorado in the 2nd period, giving the Avalanche a 3-2 lead after 2.

20 seconds into the 3rd, Paul Stastny made it 4-2 Avalanche on the power-play. But the 3rd-highest offensive team in the NHL wouldn't go down easy.

Patrick Marleau made it a 4-3 Avalanche lead with under 12 minutes left in regulation. The tying goal would come off the stick of Joe Pavelski with 5:19 to go.

But the Avalanche would get the big goal they badly needed 2:59 into the overtime from John-Michael Liles to give Colorado the 5-4 win.

The Avalanche hadn't scored more than 3 goals in regulation in their last 8, going 1-6-1. But they finally found their offense, outshooting the Sharks 40-22.

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 35 shots for the Sharks while Craig Anderson made 18 saves for the Avalanche.

The Sharks' point gives them 107, remaining 1st in the Western Conference. They are 2 points up on Chicago with 3 games left and have played 1 more game than the Blackhawks.

Colorado's win combined with tonight's Flames' loss gives the Avalanche 8th-place back all to themselves. They have 91 points, 2 up on Calgary, and have 4 games remaining while the Flames only have 3 games left.

The 8-spot in the Western Conference is now the only one left to fight for, as teams 1 through 7 have all clinched.

*Note- the Sharks' loss also makes the Washington Capitals the winners of the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL's regular season. The Capitals will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

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Red Wings 3 Flyers 4

NBC's Game of the Week proved to be another dandy, as Philadelphia got a huge win for their playoff hopes and handed Detroit their 1st regulation loss in their last 13 games in the process. The Flyers are still in 8th-place in the East, tied in points with Boston for 7th with 84, but are now 2 points up on the Rangers, who sit in 9th, and 3 points up on the 10th-place Thrashers. The Flyers and Thrashers have 3 games left, while the Rangers have 4 to go. The Flyers and the Rangers will end the year with a home-and-home, and it will likely be a deciding factor in which team makes the postseason. Detroit's loss keeps them 6th in the West with 96 points, 2 back of Nashville for 5th and 1 up on L.A. who are in 7th. But Calgary's loss to Chicago later in the night clinches a playoff spot for the Red Wings for the 19th-straight season.

Flames 1 Blackhawks 4

A big loss for Calgary to the hands of Chicago moves the Blackhawks a point closer to top spot in the Western Conference. Chicago has 105 points on the year, now 2 back of San Jose for 1st in the West with a game-in-hand on the Sharks. The Flames, however, can't keep pace with Colorado. They stay at 89 points, 2 back of the Avalanche for the 8th and final playoff spot. They have 3 games left and have played 1 more game than the Avalanche.

*Note- Calgary's loss also clinches a playoff spot for the Los Angeles Kings--their 1st since 2001-2002.

Wild 3 Canucks 4 (OT)

Vancouver salvages their Northwest Division-clinching win after what was an unbelievable ending. Alexander Edler scored an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left in regulation to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead. But hold your horses. Cody Almond scored his 1st NHL goal for the Wild with 42 seconds to go, cutting the lead back to 1. And with 19 seconds left, Antti Miettinen would tie the game at 3, absolutely stunning the GM Place crowd--or at least the people that hadn't headed for the exits thinking the game was wrapped up. But Sami Salo would get the goal in overtime on the power-play to give the Canucks the 4-3 win, clinching the Northwest Division title. They are up to 100 points and remain 3rd in the West with 3 games to play. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 81 points.

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Monday's Schedule:

Bruins @ Capitals, 7:00, Versus

Blue Jackets @ Blues, 8:00

Wild @ Oilers, 9:30

Rangers Tie for 8th; Predators Clinch

The race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference rages on, as the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, and Thrashers were all in action on Saturday. But the Game of the Night is going to be given to a Central Division matchup between the 5th and 6th place teams in the West in which 1 of the teams clinched a playoff berth:

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The Nashville Predators are the 5th team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot so far, as they break Detroit's 7-game win streak.

Brian Rafalski scored the only goal of the 1st period to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead heading into the 2nd.

In the first 5:01 of the 2nd period, Shea Weber and Martin Erat had goals for Nashville, making it 2-1 Predators. Later in the 2nd, with about 4 minutes left, Nicklas Lidstrom tied it for Detroit, only to see J.P. Dumont score for Nashville with 43 seconds left in the period to give the Predators the lead once again.

It wasn't until 37 seconds left in the regulation when Pavel Datsyuk scored the game-tying goal for Detroit to send it to overtime in a 3-3 tie. But it didn't take long for Nashville to answer.

Ryan Suter ended it for the Predators 16 seconds into the overtime to give Nashville the win over their Central Division rivals.

Pekka Rinne stopped 28 shots for Nashville and Jimmy Howard had 20 saves for Detroit.

The Predators remain 5th in the West with 98 points and 2 games left, while the Red Wings remain 6th with 96 points, 1 up on 7th-place L.A., and have 4 games left.

It's the 5th time in the last 6 years that the Predators will make the playoffs in the Western Conference.

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Washington wins their franchise record 51st game of the season as they are now 51-15-12 on the year. They had a quick start, good goaltending, and good defense to defeat Columbus.

Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, and Mike Green scored the goals for the Capitals, all in the first 14 minutes of the game. Green's goal was on the power-play.

Antoine Vermette scored a short-handed goal later in the 1st to cut the lead to 3-1 after 1.

No goals were scored in the 2nd period, as the Capitals were holding their ground. Vermette would get his 2nd goal of the night with under 8 minutes left in the 3rd to make it interesting. But the Blue Jackets couldn't put another one past Jose Theodore and the Capitals prevailed, 3-2.

Theodore ended the game with 34 saves for Washington. Mathieu Garon allowed the first 2 goals on the first 4 Capitals' shots before he was pulled for Steve Mason, who stopped 22 shots for Columbus.

The Blue Jackets are 14th in the West with 77 points.

Washington now has 114 points, and they are 1 point away from clinching the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL. They have 4 games left in the season, 3 of them at Verizon Center.

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Round 5 of the Freeway Faceoff goes to Anaheim in a pretty sloppy, flow-less game in front of a sold-out Staples Center.

Jack Johnson scored the only goal of the game for Los Angeles on the power play with 20 seconds left in the 1st period.

The 2nd period was scoreless and the 3rd period was almost scoreless.

Jarret Stoll took a tripping penalty with 2:13 left in the regulation, and the Ducks would take advantage of the advantage. Saku Koivu would put the puck past Jonathan Quick on a rebound to tie the game at 1 with only 1:32 left in regulation.

Koivu would get the only goal of the shootout to give Anaheim the 2-1 win.

Curtis McElhinney had 28 saves for the Ducks and Quick had 32 for L.A.

It was the Kings first loss when leading after 2 periods, as they are 29-0-1 in that category.

Anaheim isn't exactly dead yet, as they now have 85 points, tied with the Blues, and they sit 10th in the West. They are 4 points behind Colorado and Calgary who are tied for 8th. The Ducks have 4 games remaining.

The Kings are now up to 95 points, 6 points into a playoff spot with only 4 games left. They are 7th in the West, 1 point back of Detroit for 6th, and 3 back of Nashville for 5th with 2 games-in-hand on the Predators.

These two teams meet again in Anaheim on Tuesday night.

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Thrashers 3 Penguins 4 (OT)

Atlanta suffers another heartbreaker, losing out on a chance to set up a 3-way tie for 8th-place in the East. 2 nights after barely falling to Washington, they see their 3-2 lead over Pittsburgh vanish on a goal from Sergei Gonchar with only 1:14 left in regulation. Jordan Leopold's 1st goal as a Penguin gave them the win in overtime. The Thrashers are 10th in the East, a point behind both the Rangers and the Flyers, but Atlanta only has 3 games left--1 more against Pittsburgh, 1 against Washington, and 1 versus New Jersey--while New York and Philadelphia have 4 left. Pittsburgh is 4th in the East with 97 points, but they are tied with the Devils for the lead in the Atlantic Division.

Senators 1 Islanders 4

New York's win gives them 76 points on the year, and they sit 11th in the East. Ottawa remains clinched with 91 points, 5th in the East.

Bruins 2 Maple Leafs 1 (OT)

Miroslav Satan scored the game winner for Boston in overtime--his 2nd goal of the night--to give the Bruins an important 2 points. They now have 84 and are 7th in the East, 2 up on Philadelphia and the Rangers who are tied in points for 8th, and 2 back of Montreal for 6th. Toronto has 72 points, last in the East.

Sabres 0 Canadiens 3

Jaroslav Halak collects his 5th shutout of the year for Montreal and his 2nd shutout in 2 nights. The Canadiens stay 6th in the East and move up to 86 points, moving them much more comfortably into a playoff spot. Buffalo remains 1st in the Northeast Division with 96 points, 3rd in the East.

Devils 4 Hurricanes 0

Martin Brodeur gets his 8th shutout of the year and his 109th of his career to keep the Devils tied with Pittsburgh for 1st in the Atlantic Division. They have the exact same record as the Penguins, but the Devils swept the season series, giving them the number 2 spot in the East. Carolina has 76 points and is 12th in the East.

Rangers 4 Panthers 1

A huge 4-goal 3rd period gives New York a big win, their 3rd-straight, to tie them in points for Philadelphia for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. The Rangers remain in 9th-place though because they have 2 fewer wins. Each team has 4 games remaining. Florida is 13th in the East with 74 points.

Stars 1 Blues 2

St Louis' win pretty much ends the playoff hopes for Dallas, while at the same time keeping their faint playoff hopes alive. The Blues sit 11th in the West with 85 points, tied with Anaheim, 4 back of Colorado and Calgary who are tied for the 8th and final playoff spot. The Blues have 4 games left, while the Flames also have 4 left and the Avalanche have 5 to go. Dallas has 84 points, 5 points back of 8th, but they only have 3 games remaining.

Oilers 2 Coyotes 3 (SO)

Matthew Lombardi scored the only goal of the 8-round shootout in Phoenix to beat the last-place Oilers. Phoenix now has 102 points and remain 4th-place in the West. They are 4 points behind San Jose for 1st in the Pacific Division and Western Conference with 4 game left. Edmonton has 55 points, last in the league.

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Sunday's Schedule:

Red Wings @ Flyers, 12:30, NBC

Flames @ Blackhawks, 3:00

Sharks @ Avalanche, 8:00

Wild @ Canucks, 10:00